A claim by the Russian Defence Ministry that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was “in the epicentre of a drone attack” has turned out to be a staged performance by the Kremlin.
I do think it would end any Russian politician's career if they were to tell the nation that the war has been in vain and that the occupied territories of Ukraine are to be returned but I also think you underestimate the power of a dictator. Everything in Russia is built around Putin and his image, so him dying could be a significant disruption leading to another revolution. That said, in Russia, virtually every revolution leads to a brief moment of freedom only for another dictator to come in and say how chaotic it is and that order must be restored, with the people accepting that.
r*ssians are in love with their image of empire, they will live in literal shit as long as someone says they are great, there is no one in there who won't continue the war. Like the most liberal saviour of democracy of the hellhole - navalny supported war and crimean occupation.
Current ru-empire was at war starting from their previous empire collapse, and previous one was the same. Why would new one be any different? As long as they exist as a single entity it won't end. Only after partitioning it there can be peace for neighboring countries while they kill themselves.
OK I know it's not only Trump, but still - it's easy to be savvy against him.
Many more "world leaders" are not controlled by him, most see straight through the Kremlin's charades. Ten years ago, hell, even 2022, I might've agreed, but not anymore.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that much of the world's shift toward authoritarianism is thanks to Putin's two decades of misinformation, sabotage, hacking, military involvement and other campaigns. A lot of what Russia does in that field comes off as a conspiracy theory that looks like it's straight from a spy movie, but there's a trove of evidence backing it up. Everybody knows about the DNC hack but I feel like there are many other things that have flown under the radar. For example, how many people know that the so-called Internet Research Agency got Americans out to protest for BLM? They also got people out to protest against BLM. The same for guns rights and other issues. The goal has been to sow discord and division, which is exactly what we're seeing in the world today.
It's incredible what he's done as harm towards America and Ukraine. There has to be more countries he's screwed over. Saying things like the other commenter that Trump was dumb and easy to manipulate, doesn't take into account that Trump got a second term with a lot of help.
Yeah, Trump is undoubtedly thankful for the hacks and the information campaigns, including the recently revealed funding of the likes of Tim Pool. I've seen various opinions attributing Trump's most recent win to the rise of influencers and podcast creators who presented themselves as an alternative to the traditional media. You're right about the other countries too. Having the likes of Schroeder or Le Pen on the payroll goes a long way, and that's not the limit of the extent of the Russian operations.
And, just like in a democracy, they can blame all the problems on the previous leader, and will enact new policies. There won't be any former victories to claim as their own in putin's case, though. It's a hollow shell of a country these days, let alone an empire.
What a waste ... think what russia could have been, had it invested in its own potential.
If he has established a clear line of succession, with the second-in-command being given increasing responsibilities to prepare them for taking charge and everybody else knowing their authority, maybe. Though Putin has specifically avoided this as to avoid any rival centres of power from forming and challenging him. His philosophy seems to be “apres moi, le deluge”: when he no longer exists, it doesn’t matter whether Russia does or not. This does not bode well for an orderly transition.